Tag: Lincoln Hall

This past Thursday night, The Wombats closed out the first day of Lollapalooza 2018 with a sold out aftershow at Lincoln Hall

As the clock struck midnight, hoards of music fans had piled into Lincoln Hall to celebrate the end of the first day of Lollapalooza with The Wombats. Although they had just performed out in Tinley Park with The Pixies last month and at Lollapalooza earlier that day, the last time The Wombats had performed as a headliner in Chicago was more that two years ago, when they played The Metro in support of their album Glitterbug. Despite the late start time of the aftershow, old and new fans of the band buzzed with anticipation during the moments leading up The Wombats’ entrance to the small stage, everyone anxious to hear some of their old favorites as well as the freshest material from this year’s Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life.

The set began with the new; The group opened with “Cheetah Tongue,” the first track off their fourth studio album, but from there on, the setlist took twists and turns through The Wombats’ extensive catalog of material. Following “Give Me a Try” from Glitterbug, the band threw it back to 2011 and 2007 with “1996” and “Kill The Director.” While The Wombats did a great job at compiling a setlist of songs that highlighted each of their album eras, one of the best experiences of the show was looking around and seeing fans scream the lyrics along with lead singer Matthew Murphy and dance throughout the night with unwavering gusto, during every single song. Murphy and bandmates Dan Haggis and Tord Øverland have continuously mastered creating music that blends clever and sharp narratives with danceable melodies and grooving bass lines, allowing for fans to connect with the lyrics while dancing it out.

Live, the trio translates their records to life with a keen stage presence and unmatched chemistry, which stems from their years and years of playing music together. Despite their grueling tour and travel schedule as of late and the fact that they had played Lollapalooza earlier that afternoon, The Wombats never skimped on the energy during their show at Lincoln Hall; Øverland still delivered his signature kicks and jumps as he played bass and Murphy often paraded around the stage with his guitar. The entire room was already beaming from ear to ear as the set came to a close, but the band still had one more surprise up their sleeves. During iconic tune “Let’s Dance To Joy Division,” three people dressed up head-to-toe in wombat suits rushed the crowd and stage to close out the night, and everyone (even the wombats) clapped along to the athemic bridge of the song.

Following the humorous guest appearance, The Wombats (the band) returned for an encore, bringing along the costumed wombats again. The three song encore consisted of one of their recent singles, “Turn,” “Tokyo-Vampires & Wolves” from their earlier days, and “Greek Tragedy” from their third album, once again equally representing all of their eras. No matter what year your favorite song from The Wombats comes from though, there’s no denying their music and their live show has a timeless quality to it; it will always be a challenge to find anyone having a bad time at a Wombats show.

Check out photos from the show below, and see where you can catch The Wombats next here.

Cut Worms and King Tuff kicked off Memorial Day weekend with an incredible show at Lincoln Hall.

The dynamic show began right at 9PM, with singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Sasami performing solo on a dimly lit stage. As she sang through her stripped back, personal narratives, Sasami told hilarious anecdotes between songs, warming the early crowd up for the rest of the show. Sasami would return later in the night to play in King Tuff’s band, but first the Brooklyn based project of Max Clarke, Cut Worms, took the stage for a homecoming of sorts, as Clarke had previously lived in Chicago for several years. After a successful debut EP, Clarke released his debut full length album Hollow Ground earlier this month, and his 45 minute set consisted of the majority of the album. Clarke and his band members had the crowd eagerly soaking up the twang soaked mix of alt-country and indie rock tunes, which pull in just a pinch of psychedelic and folk rock influences. Clarke’s refreshing spin on timeless roots had the audience dancing along to his more upbeat songs like “Don’t Want To Say Good-bye,” but he also kept the set versatile by slowing things down to perform a song sans band towards the end of the show.

Eventually everyone had trickled into the concert hall, the stage had been set, and King Tuff and his band graced the stage for the final act of the night. The setlist started with the hypnotizing title and opening track of King Tuff’s latest album, The Other, which just came out in April. With the crowd hooked after that slightly slower tempo track, the energy ramped right back up with trippier “Raindrop Blue,” laden with shredding guitar riffs. King Tuff and his band added an edge of flare to their show with flashy outfits, but they kept the focus on their musicianship by not adding in any intricate stage production. The carefully plotted setlist weaved in some older favorites between songs from the new record, like “Unusual World” from the 2012 self-titled record and “Freak Me When I’m Dead” from 2008’s Was Dead record. King Tuff kept the setlist completely refreshed by even throwing in a brand new track. “They’re all new, but this one is even newer,” King Tuff said before playing “Portrait of God.” No matter what era of King Tuff discography any of the songs came from though, each tune had the crowd grooving and moving along, which nods to the versatile and universal quality of these albums and songs.

If you missed out on the show, check out our photo gallery of the evening below.

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Grab your copy of The Other via the online store here, or come into the shop to snag it!

“This is the first time we sold out Chicago,” Hinds tells the packed house at Lincoln Hall on Tuesday night. On the Madrid quartet’s current tour, sold out shows are no rare occurrence; they’ve had a recent streak of shows that have been overflowing with eager fans. Although this last show might have been Hinds’ first official sold out show here, they’ve also had no shortage of rowdy moments in the city in the last year. Last May, they played a free show at The Empty Bottle, which had fans lined up around the block to attend, and they played Lincoln Hall earlier this year as part of the annual Tomorrow Never Knows Festival.

Back in January, Hinds had recently announced the release date of their sophomore album I Don’t Run, and dropped their first single “New For You.” While they teased the new material at that show, performing the new single, their show last week was the first time many of the songs in their set had been played in Chicago. During their 75 minute set, the band performed the majority of their second album, opening up with “The Club.” Whether they were playing the new material or old favorites like “Easy” or “Garden,” the audience remained keen to have a great time; dancing, moshing, and even crowd surfing throughout the night. Despite their intense and grueling tour schedule, accompanied with a busy press schedule, the members of Hinds burst onto stage with a surge of energy, boasting infectious smiles, and the positive vibes remained present the whole show. Whether they were dancing together or telling funny anecdotes between songs, the members of Hinds always kept the mood lighthearted.

Towards the end of the show, the momentum of the evening peaked (pun intended) when members of Twin Peaks and Goodbye Honolulu crashed the stage to give Hinds a hand in performing “Davey Crockett” from their EP The Very Best of Hinds So Far. The unruly guest appearance featured Carlotta Cosials getting on Cadien James of Twin Peaks’ shoulders, stage diving from Twin Peaks’ Clay Frankel and Jack Dolan, and some champagne popping; making for an unforgettable moment in an already unforgettable show.

During the show, Carlotta had mentioned that Chicago is the closest city in America that they have to their hometown of Madrid, and another wildly successful show here proved that the city feels just as fondly about Hinds.

If you missed out on getting tickets to this show, check out photos from the evening with Bunny and Goodbye Honolulu, and see the rest of Hinds’ tour dates here.

Order your own copy of I Don’t Run on the web store here, or come grab it in the shop!

At almost every concert you go to, there’s a sort of unspoken bond amongst audience members; a mutual love of music and an interest in the particular band performing that can take strangers, put them into a cramped room, and turn them into friends by the end of the night. At Post Animal’s album release show on Friday night, the room buzzed with an electrifying sense of camaraderie from the second the doors to Lincoln Hall opened. For many in the audience, they had already formed friendships with one another, due to the supportive nature of the Chicago music scene, and the show that would follow would only bring that community even closer.

Like most Chicago bands that have begun to garner attention nationally, and even internationally, during the last couple of years, Post Animal got their start playing DIY shows in basements and gritty locations around the city before eventually working their way up to headlining slots at the likes of The Hideout, The Empty Bottle, and The Subterranean. Headlining a sold out show at Lincoln Hall sits towards the top of many bands’ bucket lists in the city, so when Post Animal made their way up to checking this feat off their list, they made sure to put together a special show for the 500 lucky audience members that scored tickets to the gig.

First, they had some of the freshest local (and soon-to-be local) talent warm up the stage for them, with Rookie kicking off the night. Although they’re a new project and just released a debut single last week, Chicago music scene veterans Joe Bordenaro and Max Loebman act as the group’s leaders, working together on new music and revamping music from their past projects. Their experience of playing music for years in other projects gives them a commanding stage presence and sense of chemistry as bandmates that you rarely see in a new band. By the time Rookie’s set had finished, most of the room had already filled in, and anyone who had started the night unaware of Rookie had quickly been converted to a new fan after witnessing their live show.

Next up, Slow Pulp mesmerized the packed house with their dreamy mix of psychedelic, pop, and punk tones for the next 45 minutes. Hailing from Madison, Slow Pulp will soon be making a permanent move down to Chicago, and the audience response on Friday confirmed that they will be welcomed with open arms once they make the move later this year. The crowd gave the band their undivided attention as they played through songs from their self-produced and released EP2, which is actually the band’s first release since the addition of lead singer Emily Massey. The audience sang along with Massey throughout the show, especially during “Preoccupied,” which has stacked up close to 200,000 streams on Spotify.

Eventually the time came for Post Animal to hit the stage, and the current of energy that had been surging through the venue was further intensified when the opening riffs of “Gelatin Mode” rang out into the room. Although they’ve been playing the song live for months, the band had only recently released the track as a single with an accompanying, must-watch music video, and it acted as the perfect kickstart to the rowdy evening that would follow. Of course, no Post Animal show would be complete without a little (or a lot of) crowd surfing and moshing, and “Gelatin Mode” set the tone for a wild night when the crowd immediately started thrashing around to the fast-paced song.

Another new single from When I Think Of You In A Castle, “Tire Eyes,” followed, only slightly slowing down the pace. The exuberance of the crowd remained intact however, never wavering as the setlist weaved between songs featuring in-your-face guitar solos, like “Special Moment” and “Victory Lap: Danger Zone,” and more mellow, winding psychedelic-tinged tracks like “Castle.” The band did a great job of strategically plotting the placement of each song in the setlist, allowing for the audience fully appreciate the diverse texture and sonic diversity of not only their newest material, but some old favorites from their first two EPs. To assist with the flow of the set, the band even worked out more elaborate and refreshed transitions between songs, adding another layer to the new songs that fans can’t experience from just listening to the record.

After playing through the majority of When I Think Of You In A Castle and staples like “Alabaster” and “You Were Not There” from their earlier catalog, Post Animal closed the first part of their set with their viral track “When I Get Home,” which has always proved to be a crowd favorite with its grooving bass line and sweeping melody. At this point in the night, the room was overflowing with positive vibes, and the crowd had already been potentially the rowdiest that the Lincoln Park concert hall has ever hosted, but things only got crazier during the encore.

Cadien Lake James from Twin Peaks first took the stage with a bottle of champagne in hand to get the audience hyped for Post Animal’s return, further demonstrating the supportive nature of the city’s music scene. After the warm introduction, the band eased the audience into the final part of their set by kicking things off with “Goggles” from their 2015 EP Post Animal Perform The Most Curious Water Activities, but when they transitioned into “Dirtpicker,” it was no holds barred for the remainder of the show. The song anchors out their new album, but it has been the hype song of their live show for a while now, always riling up the crowd with its infectiously catchy riffs. The amiable spirits of the crowd peaked during this last song as everyone exerted their final ounces of energy, working to lift each other up to crowd surf or have one last go at moshing.

By the time Post Animal walked offstage on Friday night, it was clear to everyone in the crowd that they had just witnessed a very special moment (pun intended) and while this show marked a landmark achievement for the band, it’s truly only the beginning for them. You can catch Post Animal on a headlining national tour throughout the summer, with select shows featuring Slow Pulp or fellow Chicagoans Paul Cherry and Town Criers. The summer tour includes appearances at legendary festivals like Shaky Knees, Bonnaroo, and Lollapalooza (Chicago, catch them at Lolla on Friday, August 3rd). See the rest of their tour dates here, and snag a copy of When I Think Of You In A Castlehere.

More photos of Rookie, Slow Pulp, and Post Animal at Lincoln Hall on April 27th, 2018

Madrid quartet HINDS was number one on our most anticipated acts of TNK Fest 2018, and they definitely did not disappoint during their show this past Sunday! They closed out the annual winter, multi-day and multi-venue festival at Lincoln Hall, following rowdy performances from openers Peel and Sløtface.

Bursting onto the stage to the sounds of “You Sexy Thing” by Hot Chocolate on the house speakers, the four piece immediately let the audience know that they were in for a light hearted and energetic performance filled with good vibes. The last time HINDS had played one of their endearing and energetic shows in Chicago was back in May of last year, where they packed The Empty Bottle for a free Red Bull sponsored show. The Lincoln Hall audience welcomed HINDS back to town with open arms; eagerly soaking up their irresistible and lively lo-fi rock tunes.

The band kicked off the evening with one of their most popular tracks, “Garden,” from the 2016 album Leave Me Alone, and the set that followed kept the audience engaged and enthralled from start to finish. Between playing even more crowd favorites from the same album, like “Castigadas En El Granero” and “Chili Town,” Carlotta Cosials talked about how Chicago almost felt like a second home to them, even though they came a long way from Madrid to play a small run of North American tour dates. In addition to the handful of shows HINDS have played in town, they also played an entire tour with Chicago’s Twin Peaks, and of course, Twin Peaks showed up to support their former tour mates and now friends for their show at Lincoln Hall.

The band also talked about some exciting news they had just shared earlier in the week; a new album and another expansive tour in the Spring. Accompanying the news of the album, I Don’t Run, HINDS released lead single “New For You,” which they played amongst their other setlist staples. After delivering nearly an hour of their catchy tunes at a non-stop pace, HINDS left the stage briefly, only to return for an encore that kicked off with a surprise. Twin Peaks members Clay Frankel and Colin Croom took the stage to give HINDS a hand with a cover of “Sweet Thing” from Twin Peaks’ Wild Onion LP, giving HINDS’ show in Chicago a special hometown touch.

If you missed out on this performance at Lincoln Hall, don’t sweat too much…HINDS will be back at the same venue during their upcoming tour! Grab tickets to their May 15th show here, and check out the rest of their tour dates right here.

Photo gallery of Sløtface, Peel, and HINDS by Catalina Florea

While you wait for HINDS to play in a city near you, pop into the store to grab one of their records, or order one from the online store here.